They Think We Don't Notice
by Turretwithaview
Summary: Just a bit of fun - post Always.
1. Chapter 1

Ryan and Esposito have been Beckett's backup for some time. They are also Detectives, and if she thinks she can keep secrets from them …

The two cops watch her head for the break room. Kevin turns to look at Javi and raises his eyebrows "_You think …?_"

Javi looks back at him, a frown on his face. "_Uh-huh, Bro, she must think we're dumb … or blind_" he gives it some thought "_Nah! …. she just thinks we're dumb!_"

"_Oh-oh, here she comes_ .."

Javi starts typing randomly … looks at the screen and realises he's been typing over the ballistics report … oops!

Kevin meanwhile has opened a file and is studiously holding it up in front of him. Beckett pauses by his desk but he ignores her … until she jerks the file out of his hand, turns it over and hands it back, only then does the detective realise he was holding it upside-down!

_Really bro!_ mouths a disgusted Espo. Ryan shrugs apologetically.

They both surreptitiously watch her sit at her desk and begin to go through the paperwork in front of her. Both look at the empty Castle chair and then at each other, eyebrows raised. Ryan wags his at Espo; Javi shakes his head vigorously and nods at Ryan.

The Irishman clears his throat and in a casual voice, enquires "_Castle not coming in today?_"

Beckett doesn't even look up, "_Got things to do_" she says in an offhand voice.

They look at each other …. Kevin nods towards the back of the bullpen and Javi assents. Both detectives stand up and after a casual stretch and look around make a beeline for the break room.

They close the door behind them, and peer out through the blinds at their boss. Nothing, she hasn't even looked their way, she's just reading the file, casual as can be. They shake their heads …. Espo pulls his phone out and dials.

"_Hey chica!_" he says when the call is answered, "_What's up with Mum and Dad?_" He listens for a bit and then "_Ok, will do!_"

Ryan's looking at him expectantly, so he answers with a shake of the head, "_Doesn't know anything … wants us to keep her informed_". Once more they peek through the blinds … their boss has a habit of sneaking up behind them! She's still at her desk, apparently unaware of their absence.

Javi dials a different number this time, leaning back and grinning at Kevin. The phone keeps ringing and then goes to voicemail. He cuts the call.

"_Not answering, you think maybe she's shot him and_ … "

Both men jump when the door swings open and Beckett's head appears "_You two lover boys done with your tryst, or do you want me to take the body drop and leave you to it?_"

"_Uh .. right with you boss … just discussing …. uh …. Jenny's pregnan_ …" trails off Kevin as he sees Esposito's scrunched up face.

Javi just shakes his head in disgust as he follows Beckett towards the lift, leaving the Irishman to drop his coffee cup in the sink and trail sheepishly behind them.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning both cops are at their desk chasing clues and running down reports. Beckett is standing at the Murder Board studying the picture of the crime scene, head to one side. The lift pings and Castle strides into the bullpen, coffees in hand.

Espo pauses in his perusal of the vic's records and glances at Ryan who has also stopped the traffic cam video he was looking at. They glance at each other and then turn to discreetly observe their boss and the writer.

There's a big grin on his face as he hands Beckett her cup and the two cops are leaning sideways to get a better view of the exchange. Ryan suddenly notices Beckett's eyes sliding past Castle's shoulder and heading their way, so he straightens up and ducks back behind the screen. Espo, unaware of the danger suddenly finds himself at the sharp end of the Beckett Glare and in pretending to be looking for something tips sideways out of his chair.

With undue haste he gets back to his feet and dusts himself down, carefully ignoring the raised eyebrows and smirks from his partner and boss. Carefully righting the chair, he clears his throat and as nonchalantly as possible heads for the break room, cuffing Kevin as he walks behind him.

Ryan slaps a hand to his head and mouths a silent "_Ow!_" before catching the jerk of Espo's head. Still rubbing his hand on the back of his head he follows him into the break room and closes the door behind them.

Espo stabs a finger into his chest "_Not good bro! Not good at all!_"

"_Hey! Sorry, but it wasn't me falling out the chair!_"

They both turn to the blinds and pull them apart to have a peek … only to hastily let them drop back into place as they find both hazel and blue eyes looking straight at them.

"_Those two are up to something_ … " says Javi as he starts the coffee machine "… _and we need to find out what!_"

"_Lanie not giving you any peace?_"

Espo grunts "_You just can't imagine!_" then seeing Ryan's face "_… ok, maybe you can. They still watching us?_"

Ryan takes a quick peek through the blinds before letting them drop back into place. "_They're at their desk_"

Espo hands him a coffee, grabs his own and pushes Ryan out through the door. "_Let's go see what we can find out!_"

"_Hey boss, Lanie says she has something for you_" he ignores her suspicious look and slaps a hand on Castle's shoulder as he's about to stand up "_said the boss only Castle!_"

Ryan's ducking behind Javi's broad back so the boss won't catch the look of surprise on his face and once it's under control moves to the other side of Castle and grabs the writer's other shoulder.

Castle's head is swivelling back and forth in surprise between the two cops as Beckett gets to her feet and pulls her jacket off the back of the chair. She's still eyeing them both suspiciously "_Why didn't she just call me?_"

"_Well .. uh .. I was just checking to see if she'd found anything and … uh .. that was when she said she wanted to speak to you .. I .. um .. told her I'd let you know_" he finished in a rush.

All three watch her as she heads to the lift, two sets of eyes in hope, one set imploring. She turns after hitting the call button and glances back at them. She gives the writer an encouraging smile and then turns the full glare on both cops. They gulp, but man up as she steps into the lift and is hidden by the sliding doors.

They both move round to prop their backsides on Beckett's desk and turn their full attention on Castle. He's looking scared but manages to grin back at them … well grin isn't really the right term … more of a grimace.


	3. Chapter 3

"_So Castle, you and Beckett … _" they wait a pause, watch his Adam's apple bob, "… _everything ok between you?_"

"_Wha .. why … whaya … yeah, sure, everything's fine!_"

"_Yeah? So where were you yesterday …."_ says Ryan

"_Not like you to miss a body drop_" adds Espo

"_I ha_…."

"_The boss came in late_ …" interrupted Javi

"_Hey I do_.."

"_Maybe you two were comparing notes?_" from Kevin

"_I .. wha … hey I need a coffee!_"

Two hands shoot out to dunk him back into his seat as he makes to stand up.

"_Big guy like you Castle, shouldn't need another coffee already!_"

Castle's eyes are flicking back and forth between the two detectives. There's a desperate, hunted look to them as he glances hopefully towards the lift.

"_Beckett's not going to save you this time Castle, man-up and tell us what's going on!_"

"_Nothing! … nothing's going on, honestly!_"

There's a double, disbelieving "_Huh!_" and both cops look disgustedly at each other.

They turn back to their victim and are about to continue their interrogation when his face takes on a look of relief as he glances over their shoulder. Both jump up and spin around, Ryan already muttering "_Hey boss i…_."

There's no one there. They quickly turn back, just in time to see Castle disappearing down the stairs. They watch him go with disappointment … then turn back to each other.

"_You reckon he'll tell her?_" asks Ryan

"_Duh! Is the Pope catholic?!_"

With a sigh they head back to their desks.

"_So, how's Lanie going to deal with Beckett?_"

Javi shrugs "_Maybe she'll be able to get something out of her, you know, best friends an' all_ …"

It's about twenty minutes later when Espo's phone rings. He looks at the caller ID and gives Ryan a "_Psst!_" showing him Lanie's photo on the screen. Ryan scoots his chair across and leans in. "_So chica, how'd it go?_"

"_How'd it go! HOW'D IT GO! Javier Esposito, when I get ahold of you, you are so gonna wish we'd never met! Why did ya go and tell Beckett I had somethin' for her? You know how much crap I had to come up with on the spur of the moment!_"

"_Sorry babe, but we had to split them … you know, get momma bear away from the cub so we could work on him!_"

"_Don't you go babe'ing me Javi! …. so_ …" a slightly more mollified ME said, "… _you break him?_"

"_Umm ._." a desperate look at Ryan and the Irishman leans closer to the phone.

"_Hi Lanie, we nearly had him, but then he got away. We'll get him when he comes back …._"

"_Kevin Ryan, you and that numbskull next to you better make good on this, or I swear I'll be placing something of yours' in little glass jars on my shelf!_" The line goes dead and two worried looking detectives turn back to their desks, both subconsciously checking their tackle is still intact.

A few minutes later and the lift pings and the doors slide open to disgorges a puzzled looking Beckett. She ignores the two cops as she heads for her desk, only to pause half-way through removing her jacket. She looks around and then at the two detectives. In a voice dripping with suspicion "_Where's Castle?_"

Ryan and Esposito look at each other then back at their boss and with feigned nonchalance they both shrug shoulders.

Javi goes for the "_He was there a short while ago boss, must've gone out for a bit_ …"

Ryan just hides behind his computer screen and wonders how much Jenny will get as a police widow.


	4. Chapter 4

It's gone midday before Castle makes an appearance, pointedly carrying only two coffee cups and styrofoam boxes instead of the usual four from Remy's. Beckett raises her head at the familiar footsteps and her face lights up on seeing him.

Espo snorts in disgust and looks across at Ryan who nods in agreement. Castle leans down and says something to Beckett which sounds like "_… a break_" but is said so quietly that they're not sure. Beckett stands up, grabs her cup and they both head for the break room, Castle's hand on the small of Beckett's back as he follows her in and closes the door.

The two disgruntled cops stare at each other for a few moments, casually glance around the bullpen and just as casually get up before heading for the conference room next to the break room.

"_Bro!_" Espo points at the door they've just entered and with a nod, Ryan closes it leans his shoulder against it. Espo puts his ear to the other door … but he can't hear anything. With a shrug he leans down and puts his eye to the keyhole. All he can see is part of the table with a steaming cup of coffee and what looks like Castle's shoulder. He places his ear to the keyhole but can only make out Castle's voice going on about the price of coffee at Remy's.

Suddenly the door flies open and Espo is left crouching there, a startled look on his face as he twist his head round to see Beckett standing in the doorway, hands on her hips and her eyes glaring down at him.

"_Hmm .. I really need to get new shoe laces_" he says as he pretends to mess with them_ "… bro …uh .. Br.. o..o?_" still bent over he turns his head back in Ryan's direction … only there's just an open door there as well … no sign of Ryan anywhere.

With a scowl he stands up, turns to look at Beckett who has yet to say something and observes Castle smirking at him in the background. He hesitatingly points over his shoulder "_I'll just … umm … I'll go get … um yeah, maybe I should go back to looking for … um … the vic's friends ._." he manages to get out as he retreats backwards.

As soon as he's safely out of the room he turns to look for his partner who is going to get shot, not only is he going to get shot, he is going to get shot where it hurts! A "_psst!_" draws his attention to a somewhat downcast Ryan who is looking at him from inside the lift; one hand holding the door open, the other waving him over.

"_Not good … not good at all!_"

"_Hey, sorry Javi, but I didn't get a chance to warn you! One moment the door's closed, next she's standing there like she's thinking about drawing her piece and shooting you right there and then!_"

"_Ok, well we obviously need to be more subtle about it. Maybe we'd better get back to work and come up with a plan_"

"_So long as it doesn't involve listening at doors … ok, I'm with you!_" he adds as he sees the look on Espo's face.

They press the button to open the doors and each heads to his desk, a wary eye kept on the break room door which is still closed.

They're still there ten minutes later when Beckett and Castle open the door and return to their desk, Beckett taking her chair whilst the writer flops down in his, both totally ignoring the two cops who are glowering at them over their screens.


	5. Chapter 5

Espo looks across at Kevin and whispers a hoarse "_Bro!_" Kevin looks up from the vic's financials he was studying and glances at him, a frown on his face. Javi nods in the direction of the murder board and he turns to look.

Beckett's sitting, propped on the edge of her desk, looking at the board and chewing on her thumb. Next to her is Castle, head to one side and apparently squinting at the photo of the crime scene. Neither detective misses the shoulder bump as the writer leans in to say something to their boss, then he's standing, picking up their cups and heading for the break room.

The two cops look at each other, eyebrows raised and making kissy faces as they duplicate the shoulder bump … then they're back to pretending to work, heads down but watching their boss from under their brows. Castle returns with the two cups and as he hands Beckett hers, both cops can see her face clearly …. they look at each other and simultaneously mouth "_eyesex!_"

Javi sticks two fingers in his mouth and makes a gagging sound. "_Got a problem Espo?_" comes from Beckett … and shit she hasn't even turned round to look at them … has she got eyes in the back of her head? … he looks a bid worriedly at Kevin who simply shakes his head.

Beckett sits down in her chair and Castle flops onto his. He pulls his phone out and begins playing with it. A few minutes later and Beckett's phone pings with a message. The two boys watch as she picks it up, looks at the message and bites her lip. They watch as she grins and quickly taps out an answer.

It's Castle's phone that goes next, the new message tone that of '_sizzling bacon_' thinks Ryan. Espo, more in tune realises it's a tone for '_Hot!_' and he's not the only one to realise it from the look the Boss has just given Castle!

Castle's shoulders shrug apologetically, though it doesn't stop him texting something. Beckett's phone goes again and this time there's a definite blush when she reads it. The look she gives the writer has 'sizzling' all over it thinks Javi, and he's surprised that Castle doesn't instantly combust from it.

Espo nudges Ryan and nods towards the break room. As soon as they're both inside, door closed and both keeping an eye on the two at the desk, just in case they try any more of that creepy ninja-sneaking-up-on-you-unannounced thing, Javi says "_Hey Bro! We need to get hold of Castle's phone records!_"

"_Are you nuts! You know what she'd do to us if she even suspected?!_"

Espos' "_Psst!_" wasn't quite as confident as he tried to make out. "_Ok, well then we need to get hold of his phone!_"

"_And how you proposing to do that with momma bear on the prowl?_"

Espo shrugs and they both stand there racking their brains and staring out at the targets of their Machiavellian intentions. "_Got it!_" says Ryan.

Javi looks at him, eyebrows raised in expectation.

"_We wait till a suspect's brought in for interrogation. As soon as momma bear heads towards the interrogation room, one of us keeps little bear busy to split them up. The other waits for him just outside interrogation and tells him to hand over the phone …. new NYPD rules, no phones allowed in interrogations, he'll be so eager to catch up with momma bear he won't argue!_"

Espo looks at him for a moment, considering, then allowing the smile to spread across his face slaps Ryan on the back which almost knocks the Irishman off his feet. "_Lets go do it!_"


End file.
